Discover how coaches can use transcripts, blog posts, and meta descriptions to build a findable content foundation without hiring an SEO agency.
You record an episode. You hit publish. And then it just sits there.
No traffic. No new leads coming in from search. No sense that anything you created is compounding over time. Just content floating in the void.
Here’s the thing, this is not a content quality problem. Most coaches are creating genuinely valuable stuff. This is a foundation problem. And the good news is the fix is simpler than you think.
We call it the Poor Man’s SEO. It’s not going to make you rank number one on Google by Friday. It’s not a replacement for a full-fledged SEO strategy, and yes, there is a point in every business where investing in real SEO expertise makes sense. But before any of that matters, you need this foundation in place. And right now, almost no coaches have it.
The Big Idea: Your Content Should Live in Three Places
Every time you record an episode, that content should live on your website in three forms: the video, a blog post, and the full transcript. That’s it. That’s the Poor Man’s SEO.
Here’s why it works. When someone lands on your website and finds your podcast page, they’re going to engage with that content in different ways. Some people want to watch. Some want to listen. Some want to read. By giving them the video, a scannable blog post, and a full transcript all in one place, you remove the friction. They find you how they want to find you and they stay longer because the content is already there.
But the bigger reason this works? Every time you publish a full transcript on your website, you’re adding thousands of words of keyword-rich content that Google can index. You’re not stuffing keywords in artificially. You’re just talking about what you know, and Google is going to catch on over time.
Why Consistency on Your Website Changes the Game
One of the most underrated factors in getting your website found is simply whether it’s being updated regularly. A static website that was built once and never touched again sends a signal to search engines: there’s nothing new here.
A website that adds a new video, a new blog post, and a new transcript every single week sends a completely different signal. Come back here. There’s always something new. This person is active and relevant.
This is what we mean when we say your content should compound. A single episode might not move the needle much. But 20 episodes, 30 episodes, 50 episodes, each one adding a transcript full of natural keywords to your website. That’s how coaches start showing up in places they never expected.
What a Meta Description Is (And Why It Matters)
Here’s something most coaches completely skip, and it’s one of the easiest things you can do to help your content get found.
A meta description is a short sentence, typically between 130 and 145 characters, that tells Google and other search engines exactly what a specific page on your website is about. It shows up underneath your link in search results. It’s the first thing a potential reader sees before they decide whether to click.
The best way to think about it is like a reduction in cooking. You start with 45 minutes of conversation and reduce it all the way down to a single, concentrated sentence. Benefit-driven. Present tense. Full of the keywords your audience is actually searching for.
Example: “Learn how coaches can turn every episode into a findable content asset using transcripts, blog posts, and meta descriptions… no SEO agency required.”
That’s your meta description. Most website platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Kajabi) have a place to add it on each page or post. If you have an SEO plugin like Yoast on WordPress, there’s a dedicated field for it. Add it every single time.
The Next Frontier: Answer Engine Optimization
While we’re talking about being found, there’s something new coaches need to start paying attention to: AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization.
SEO is about showing up in a list of search results. AEO is about showing up as the answer when someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, or Google’s AI overview a question in your area of expertise.
Think about how you personally use AI tools right now. You’re probably not scrolling through ten links anymore. You’re asking a question and getting an answer. And someone’s content is being referenced to generate that answer. The coaches who have been consistently publishing keyword-rich, question-answering, long-form content are the ones whose ideas are getting pulled.
We’re still in early days here and learning alongside you. But the principle is the same as the Poor Man’s SEO: create clear, consistent, well-structured content that directly answers your audience’s most pressing questions. The coaches who build that library today are the ones whose ideas will show up in AI-generated answers tomorrow.
How to Implement This Starting Today
The implementation is straightforward. Here’s exactly what to do after your next episode:
Step one: Get a transcript. Use Riverside.fm’s free transcription tool. Upload your audio file (it’s smaller than video and processes faster). You’ll have a full transcript within a few minutes.
Step two: Drop the episode into your website’s blog or podcast roll. Embed the video at the top of the page. This is your primary piece of content.
Step three: Write a blog post. Take the transcript, drop it into Claude or ChatGPT, and ask for a 600-800 word summary. Edit it for your voice, clean it up, and post it directly below the video.
Step four: Add the full transcript below the blog post. Label it “Full Episode Transcript” and paste it in. This step is what most coaches skip, and it’s the most important step for long-term findability.
Step five: Write a meta description. Reduce the entire episode down to a single 130-145 character sentence. Benefit-driven, present tense, keyword-aware. Add it to your page settings.
Do this for every episode. Rinse and repeat. Over time, Google will figure out who you are and what you talk about, not because you gamed anything, but because you showed up consistently with real, relevant content.
The Real Reason Most Coaches Don’t Do This
Here’s the honest truth about why this part gets skipped: it’s not exciting. It doesn’t feel creative. It’s the behind-the-scenes infrastructure work — and compared to recording a great episode or filming a compelling video, putting a transcript on your website feels like accounting. But that’s exactly why most coaches don’t do it. And that’s exactly why the ones who do are playing a completely different game.
Your content is already being created. You’re already putting in the work. The Poor Man’s SEO is just making sure that work doesn’t disappear into the void the moment you hit publish. It’s making sure everything you create starts stacking up, week after week, into a foundation that brings people to you.
If you implement this with your next episode, you’ll be ahead of 99% of coaches publishing content right now. That’s where we’d start. Get the transcript. Get it on your website. Write the blog post. Add the meta description. Do it this week. And if you want a done-for-you system that handles all of this consistently (transcript, blog post, social content, email, and more) visit 1898creative.com to learn how we can help.
Watch or listen to Episode 018 of the Coaching with Content podcast for the full conversation.
Full Transcript
Darren: Well, hey, welcome back to another episode of the Coaching with Content podcast. It’s good to have you here because I’m here. Dustin’s here. Coffee is here. Lights, cameras, and action are here. Dustin, how you feeling today, buddy?
Dustin: I’m feeling good, man. I’m feeling good. I got some good learning time in this morning. Got to walk. Got a light workout in — very light, but it counts. Don’t tell me it doesn’t count because it does. I did it. Yeah, I’m feeling good. Coffee, water. We just recorded a good podcast episode — that would have been the last episode you watched. And now we’re doing it again. We batch these things, buddy.
Darren: That’s right. We batch — repurpose…
Dustin: And there it is. This is the running joke — how Darren says the word repurpose. He says “repurpose, repurpose.” Many of you are probably thinking, yeah, well, how do you say it, dummy? I say repurpose. And you’re like, what are you, in third grade? Yeah, that’s pretty much my brain.
Darren: Anyway, Dustin, before we get there, I want you to finish this sentence for me today. I am thankful for you, my friend.
Dustin: Stop it. Oh, you’re serious. I appreciate you, dude. I thought we were playing the game where you have to say the first thing that pops into your head.
Darren: I wanted you to give it some real thought. But let’s do it. Finish the sentence. Today I’m thankful for…
Dustin: Oh man. I’m trying to give it some really good thought. But it’s still you. That was a long time to think just about me. You know what, today I’m also thankful for this cup of coffee because it is needed today.
Darren: Yeah, I get it. Anyway, today I want to talk about something that came up when I was working with a client a few weeks back. We were talking through what their podcast was going to look like and how it was going to get out into the world and be seen.
We’re not an organization that preaches virality — going out and blowing up and getting a million views on something. We’re really about building an authority platform for your business and allowing your ideas to be shared there.
As we were talking through it, I broke down something that we do for every client. And I thought, we probably need to talk about that on the show. We’re going to coin it — I hope it’s not offensive to anybody — but we’re going to coin it the Poor Man’s SEO.
So everybody, in some way or form, is thinking about what SEO they can do — search engine optimization. How, if somebody puts something into Google, can you make sure you come to the top of the search results?
Something that we established early on in our content process — when we take content and put it in different places — one of the things we’ve found that is really strong is this idea of the Poor Man’s SEO.
This isn’t going to replace a company that does SEO for a living. This is just something we do to make sure the foundation of what happens is solid and working for you.
So Dustin, let’s talk a little bit about what SEO is and maybe what it isn’t.
Dustin: Yeah. I’m no SEO expert, but it stands for search engine optimization. This is my non-SEO brain trying to describe it, and I had two meetings this week with SEO experts who are friends and clients. I just hope they never hear me try to explain this. But if we have good SEO, maybe they’ll accidentally hear me.
The simple version: it’s about being able to make your stuff findable. The worldwide web is just massive — it’s bigger than the world itself. So how can you get your information found? How can you get your business, your coaching, found in this giant endless ocean?
Darren: And what it’s not — if we’re framing today’s conversation — is a full-fledged SEO strategy that guarantees you’ll rank number one on Google tomorrow. That’s not what we’re saying. There are great people we can recommend if that’s what you need. There is a point in every business where you do need a real SEO strategy. If you need it and you trust us enough, reach out and we’ll connect you with the right people.
What it is for us today is a simple path to platform your idea, your podcast episode, your blog — so that when somebody finds you, there are ways they can engage with your content in a strong way. That’s really what we’re talking about with the Poor Man’s SEO. It’s just making sure everything is aligned in a way that makes sense to someone who comes across your content.
So let’s frame out what we do with each and every episode for every client in our full system. I’m pulling up our actual SOP right now — which we talked about in the last episode.
Dustin: I assume this is where you’re going. This is the strategy behind the CCOS process, right?
Darren: Exactly. Let’s break down CCOS. CCOS is our Content Creation Operating System. This is a process we use because if you’re recording episodes and creating content and putting it out into the world, you could have a really good conversation, it goes out on YouTube or the audio platforms, and then it just sits there. That’s it.
Our CCOS process is taking that content and leveraging it across the board — creating other pieces of assets from that conversation that allow for more reach and more potential clients connecting with who you are and what you do.
So if we say CCOS, you’re officially in the insider circle. Content Creation Operating System. Boom.
Every episode needs to walk through a repurposing process so that we’re leveraging it to the best of its ability. One of the things we feel very strongly about is this SEO piece — the Poor Man’s SEO.
Every episode will obviously go on YouTube. That’s the video platform we use. Then you take the audio and put it out on all the audio platforms. Those are kind of where everything is housed and stored.
But then there’s a third one we like to do, which is your business or personal website — your blog roll, where content is being added to your page regularly. And anybody worth their weight in gold in SEO will ask: what are you doing each week, each month, to update your website so there’s new content going on your site?
So what we do is take the episode, drop it into a blog roll on your website. The video is there, and then we create a blog post around it. So if somebody is more of a reader than a watcher, or they don’t want to sit through a 45-minute podcast, they can read a five-minute blog post instead.
Then what we do that I feel is really strong in this SEO strategy piece is take the full transcript of that episode. Say you have a 45-minute conversation — you take that transcript, put it underneath the blog post. It says “transcript” and then it’s the full word-for-word text of the episode above it.
So you have the video, the blog post, and the transcript. And now what you have is a content-dense piece of your website — 45 minutes of conversation — living there every single week. You rinse and repeat that each and every week. Your transcript is full of all the keywords: podcasting, Coaching with Content, Darren Cooper, 1898 Creative, Dustin Pead. I’m chalking this transcript full of all our keywords right now.
But it’s all the things we naturally talk about. Over time, Google is going to catch on to who you are and what you do.
And there’s a secondary piece to this, Dustin — when you create consistent content on YouTube and audio platforms, YouTube eventually starts to figure out who you are and what you talk about. They’ll start serving those videos up to the right people. That’s why we believe in long-form content.
So one big thing we do that is super helpful in the foundational elements is — obviously video, obviously audio — but putting this on your website as the Poor Man’s SEO allows you to get in front of people in a more efficient way. Dustin, what do you think?
Dustin: Yeah. What you’re saying is it’s staking claim on the worldwide web. This is who you are, this is what you’re about. You don’t have to worry only about whether you’re saying the right things on your website. In terms of being found on the internet, if we take this transcript word for word and put it somewhere on your website, your site is going to be elevated quicker when people are searching the things you’re talking about. And that’s what you want. A clean transcript helps that. The pillar blog post helps that too.
Darren: Obviously we do a lot more in our CCOS process with all of our deliverables, but this SEO piece is what I wanted to highlight today. If you simply take each episode or each video, write a blog post around it, add the transcript, and get it onto your website — now there’s an ongoing flow to what you do. Someone comes to your website, they see your blog roll or podcast roll, they click, and they’re seeing updated content. It becomes a way for them to engage with your stuff even more.
It’s a solid foundation. If you just do that, you’ll be in the top 1%.
Dustin: Darren, I’d love for you to wrap up in a few minutes by telling us how to implement this. But one thing I’m looking at in our deliverables that a lot of coaches and thought leaders listening may not know about — and that I even just recently discovered because this is not my lane — is something called a meta description. What is a meta description, where do we use it, and is it important?
Darren: Great question. I’ll probably explain meta descriptions much like you explained SEO, but a meta description is a simple — I think it’s 150 characters or so — sentence or two about what’s in the blog post or video that you want people to know. This is usually full of keywords. If you’re talking about content strategy, you make sure that’s in the meta description. If you’re talking about SEO strategy, that would be in there too.
It usually goes somewhere in the blog post or on the web page. In WordPress there’s a section for it — if you have an SEO plugin, you can update the meta description there. I’m assuming platforms like Squarespace have something similar. It’s just a way of telling Google and all the search engines: this is what you can expect from this blog, this video, this page I’m updating on my website.
Dustin: So in our SOP, the meta description is between 130 and 145 characters, benefit-driven, present tense, and keyword-aware.
Darren: Right. And the analogy I’d use is the chef’s term — a reduction. They start with something that isn’t concentrated and boil it down until it is. If you were to reduce your content down to its most core, benefit-driven, present-tense, keyword-aware, 145-character form — that’s your meta description. And you want that somewhere in the blog post or on the web page so it can be found and elevated quicker to the top of those results.
Now, do we want to talk about how we put this together, or do we want to talk about the AEO piece first?
Dustin: Yeah, I think the AEO thing — we mentioned it before we hit record — is something we’ve got to be paying attention to.
Darren: AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. This is a whole new space, and I don’t know that we know enough about it yet to dive deep into specifics. But it’s something we’re paying close attention to in our business. How do we make sure our content and our website are optimized for answer engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s AI overviews? I honestly use ChatGPT more like Google these days. When it gives you the answer, we want those answers coming from our content. Where’d you find that out? Oh, here — boom. This is who you need to go to.
And when you Google things now, right at the top, Gemini is telling you: here’s the AI answer to what you’re looking for. That’s why it’s called AEO — Answer Engine Optimization. Searching is still a thing and I think it will be for a long time, but we’re seeing the merge of AEO as equally important.
As a content agency, we’re looking at this heavily. We’ve got our Poor Man’s SEO down for our clients in multiple ways, and now we’re going to be building toward AEO too.
Dustin: And I think it’s just something you need to be aware of. Keep your finger on the pulse. What does that mean for a coach, a consultant, a thought leader? How do you make sure your ideas are positioned to answer people’s questions? We’ll keep doing research and report back as we learn more. Maybe it’ll be a Poor Man’s AEO episode one day.
Darren: Yeah. This part of the process is not quote-unquote sexy. This isn’t the “oh, this is fun, we get to talk about creating content” stuff. This is more of the boring behind-the-scenes work — but super important elements that need to be put in place.
Let’s wrap up with the how and give you a couple of key takeaways.
How we put this together: we utilize the transcript of the full episode — that’s our foundational piece. The power of AI today means you can take this transcript, put it into prompts we’ve built out, and it will deliver a blog post, a cleaned-up transcript, segment ideas, social cuts, meta descriptions, title ideas. It becomes this thing that lets you see the lay of the land. These are all the ways you can use this content. Then we walk through it.
We like to say we’re an AI-forward company, but we make sure the human touches it too — making sure it’s not going haywire in any way or form. But if you simply take the transcript of your episode, drop it into Claude or ChatGPT or whatever AI you prefer, and ask for things — give me a blog post, write it out so I can edit it, give me a meta description, give me a cleaned-up transcript — allow that to become the first thing you do once the episode is done. Then you can see how it can be leveraged across your website, your social accounts, and YouTube and audio platforms. That’s the quick version.
Dustin: Exactly what I was thinking. I just want them to know how to put this into place on their own if they choose to do so.
Darren: And there’s a ton of different ways to do it. Obviously we have our systems and our process. If that’s something you need help with, by all means reach out — darren@1898creative.com. All links are in the description. We’d love to have a conversation about how we can help you leverage your ideas and content to build an authority platform that ultimately grows your business.
Again, it’s not about going viral. It’s not about blowing up and becoming the next hot thing. It’s about serving people with your ideas, your frameworks, the way you do business.
Dustin, any final thoughts?
Dustin: Yeah. Like I always say at the end of these episodes — don’t overcomplicate it. Just focus on one thing first. Start with the transcript. It’s a free tool. If you Google Riverside transcription, it’s a great free tool we use quite a bit. You can upload audio or video, but audio is quicker because the file is smaller. Upload your audio and you’ll have a transcript right then and there. Then take that transcript and do everything we talked about with it.
Darren: That is the first step. If you just do that, like Dustin said, that’s going to be a game changer for you. You can use it in ChatGPT, Claude, any AI you prefer, and you’ll get a lot of really useful things from it.
Bonus tip: something I haven’t dug into much until a couple of episodes back. I had a conversation with my good buddy Adam Ivy, who gave an absolute masterclass on YouTube, and afterward I went and tried something called Notebook LM. It’s at notebooklm.google.com. I threw in the YouTube link from that video and it created a whole five-minute video recap with graphics, text, voiceover — it was really awesome. You could also do a slide deck and all kinds of things. We haven’t fully started playing with it, but we need to look into it. There are a lot of fun tools out there to help you repurpose content in creative ways.
So yeah — that’s the Poor Man’s SEO. That’s the thing we’re doing. If you go to 1898creative.com, go to our blog or podcast page, you’ll see how it’s working in real time. That’s what we do each and every week for ourselves and our clients.
With that, I want you to remember this: you are an artist and you need to do the hard work of bringing that art out into the world. I know you might be saying, no, I’m not an artist. Yes, you are. There’s something inside of you that the world needs. So do the hard work of bringing that to life, and go out and create your art. We’ll see you here next time on the Coaching with Content podcast.